


Risorgimento 14 -- Side Trip

by obi_ki



Series: Risorgimento [13]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:22:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25937365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obi_ki/pseuds/obi_ki
Summary: The boys consider their choices as they stop to fulfill a promise
Relationships: Qui-Gon Jinn & Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn/Obi-Wan Kenobi
Series: Risorgimento [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/81226
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8
Collections: Master Apprentice Archive





	Risorgimento 14 -- Side Trip

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Everything Star Wars belongs to George Lucas and Lucasfilms. We're just playing in his world, borrowing the boyz and their accomplices and will return them all when I'm through. No money is being made from this, it is all done for entertainment only.
> 
> Author's Notes: This is the fourteenth segment in the Risorgimento series and the third non-journal entry I have written solo. As always thanks to padawanewan. This series and the snarky characterization of General Kenobi would not exist without her. This episode is dedicated to her. Thanks to Lady DisDayne for the thorough beta.

With those final words from their spirits, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan felt the connection to them fade. Both men remained sitting in silence for several minutes, each one contemplating both the words spoken and what had been left unvoiced by their counterparts. 

Qui-Gon was the first to speak. “Although this decision will impact both of us, my mortal life was complete at the time my cellular matter was harvested. But for you, love, life continued for another nineteen years.” 

The seriousness of this discussion was evident in Obi-Wan’s expression. “I have immersed myself in any records available about the years between Order 66 and my ‘death’ on the first Death Star, but the information on that time period is both limited and extremely skewed. To have the actual memories available to me, would be a priceless gift.” He closed his eyes and added, “Especially the ones that pertain to Luke and Leia.” 

Qui-Gon reached over and took hold of one of his lover’s hands. “I expect it would,” he agreed. “As for me, you have shared much about the years between Naboo and the end of the Republic, but there is a wide divide between hearing about the events and living them.“ 

“Every event an individual lives through changes them in a number of ways. Raising Anakin amid the political upheaval that grew throughout the galaxy and then taking on the role of a general in the Clone Wars changed me in ways I’d never thought possible.” Obi-Wan opened his eyes and smiled. “As you recognized pretty quickly, the man sitting here now is a far cry from the twenty-five year old that accompanied you to Naboo.” 

Qui-Gon couldn’t quite hide his matching smile. “Indeed. General Kenobi is a man few would dare to disregard.” He gently squeezed the hand he held before releasing it and resting his own hand on Obi-Wan’s chest. “But in here, not much has changed. You are still the compassionate, dedicated, selfless, responsible, reckless, supportive, sneaky, and sarcastic man that I love.”  
“I’m not sure if I should feel praised or insulted,” Obi-Wan retorted with a raised eyebrow. 

Qui-Gon smartly ignored the comment. “Without more information, I have no idea how much my ghostly counterpart was aware of things occurring on the corporeal plane. He admitted that it took him many years before he was able retain his cohesion for even short moments. But for you, your counterpart lived the years between the fall of the Republic and your death. His memories would be first hand knowledge that he could pass on to you.” 

Obi-Wan’s smile vanished and overwhelming grief shone in his eyes. “Anakin once asked me what my heart told me I was meant for and my answer to him was infinite sadness. I expect that any memories from those years will only serve to support that notion.” 

“It seems that there is much more to consider about all of this. As Jedi, we believe that all knowledge is beneficial and danger can come from its lack,” Qui-Gon countered. “But, I must admit that reading the history files that Var-Son provided was horrifying in many ways. I expect receiving the depth of emotion that would accompany that knowledge may be unbearable.” 

“Of that I have no doubt,” Obi-Wan replied, closing his eyes again. 

Long minutes passed as the silence lay heavy around them, both men dropping into solo meditation as they considered the choice before them. Opening his mind and heart, Qui-Gon drifted in the minimal available currents of the Living Force. He let it carry him, not directing but floating freely, knowing that it would eventually lead him to the correct path. 

As he felt his master relax into his meditation, Obi-Wan settled into the familiar threads of the Unifying Force. As his meditation deepened, he took a moment to reach over his bond with Qui-Gon. Even in hyperspace, the colors of the Living Force washed over him in a depth that he could not normally attain. He used the density of the Force within the connection between them to strengthen and focus him before slipping deeper into the Unifying Force. He scrutinized the threads of possibilities that his prescience laid out, examining each and every one. The glimpses he received were brief, some only seconds long. When the last image faded, he shifted his mental focus and began to examine each impression more thoroughly. 

Qui-Gon surfaced from his meditation to find Obi-Wan still within his meditative trance. He used the time to study his partner, the man who had been but no longer was his padawan. Sitting cross-legged, back straight, palms resting loosely on his knees, the man before him was very much General Kenobi as depicted in the history tomes he had read. Calm, cool, collected, every bit of his focus on the dilemma at hand. Not for the first time, he pondered how they would navigate the roadblocks that surely would appear as their relationship grew. He knew he would find it challenging at times until he became more in tune with the evolution of Obi-Wan from cautious padawan to pragmatic council master. 

Before he even opened his eyes, Obi-Wan was aware that Qui-Gon’s focus had shifted from considering their current quandary to considering him. He remained still as he extended his own focus, looking to see what had his master so perplexed. Catching a glimpse of himself seated among the Council had him fighting to keep a laugh from escaping. He opened his eyes and met Qui-Gon’s concerned look with a smile. ”You’re not normally this distractible, my Master. Keep your focus in the here and now where it belongs.” 

Qui-Gon couldn’t hold back his own smile and he retorted. “It’s considered impolite to use a man’s own words against him.” 

Before Obi-Wan could defend himself, a beep echoed around them. He rose from his knees and moved to the doorway. “We’re approaching Cerea. Looks like we’ll have to continue this conversation later.”

By the time Qui-Gon rose to his feet, put away their meditation mats and joined his partner in the cockpit, the lines of hyperspace were fading into stars and the green globe of Cerea appeared in the viewport. Obi-Wan had already researched the nearest spaceport to the sea and immediately opened a channel to download their ident codes and landing request to the space authority computer. 

“Buckle in, Qui-Gon,” Obi-Wan instructed as the coordinates for their landing appeared on the screen before him. 

Settling into the co-pilot seat, Qui-Gon was drawn by the certitude of Obi-Wan’s movements. Although he was always a competent pilot, it was not something he had enjoyed doing. The assurance he demonstrated as he took the ship down into the atmosphere spoke of a familiarity developed over a long number of pilot hours. They settled onto the designated landing pad without even the slightest bump and he looked up at Obi-Wan in surprise. 

Obi-Wan unbuckled his harness and then reached over and repeated the motion on Qui-Gon’s. “I still hate flying, but flying alongside Anakin made me develop a proficiency for it just to survive. You can rest assured that I’ll never want to pilot a fighter just for fun.” 

They stopped by their bedroom to change into nondescripts tunics, grab their cloaks and the box containing Var-Son’s remains before heading down the landing ramp. They moved in tandem to the hangar attendant’s office and presented the ident cards that Var-Son had provided for them. The information on them had been fabricated very creatively, a merging of real information and falsehoods that lowered the possibly of confusion. With both Jinn and Kenobi being common surnames in the Galaxy and the upheaval in the Galaxy since their deaths, it felt safer to continue using them rather than deal with the possibility of giving the wrong name. The ident cards listed only the initials of their first names and their dates of births had been calculated back from their ages. Both of their homeworlds were listed as Alderaan, which made any research of their early lives impossible and Var-Son had created a false trail of freighter jobs for them mostly on the Outer Rim which should hold up to basic scrutiny. 

When Obi-Wan explained the reason for their visit, the man had scanned the contents of the wooden box for confirmation and researched Var-Son Meirr in the planet’s database to confirm his nationality. Not surprisingly, all of his immediate family were confirmed as deceased, so they were given approval to disperse Var-Son’s remains as the healer had desired. They paid their docking fee and were directed to the nearest speeder rental kiosk. It took only a few minutes to arrange a speeder and program their destination into the mapping system. 

There wasn’t much conversation as they made their way to the Cerean Sea, both men focused on the variety of scenery around them. The Cereans were highly intelligent and cultured people, who lived in total harmony with nature. They spurned technology and fought pollution with an efficiency that few could match. Their binary brains led to high intellectual ability, but that ability was focused on medical and agricultural benefits rather than technological or industrial applications. As a result, the landscape was pristine, flora and fauna were abundant and diverse, land cultivated to bring the most pleasure and harmony to the populous. 

By the time they reached the seashore, the sun was high in the sky and the air had warmed substantially. They parked the speeder in a hard-packed area and removed their cloaks as they stepped out of it. After a moment, Obi-Wan sat down on the ground, removed his boots and socks, and rolled his leggings up to his knees. At Qui-Gon’s look, he offered, “Can’t really spread his ashes in the sea without stepping into it.”

With a nod, Qui-Gon sat down as well, duplicating his partner’s actions and placing his items in the speeder beside Obi-Wan’s. He grasped the box in his right hand and reached out his left. “Shall we?” 

Obi-Wan took the offered hand and they made their way down the path. Tall ferns bordered both sides of the pebble-covered path, getting shorter the closer they got to the empty beach. The warm sand was smooth under their feet. The sand grew damp and compressed as they moved towards the water and it was easy to sense the microscopic life teeming within it. Seafoam pushed towards their toes and soon drops of seawater joined it. Waves moved gently over the sand and soon their feet were covered by the cool water.

They took another step before Qui-Gon released Obi-Wan’s hand and opened the hinged top of the wooden box. Small fish moved around their ankles and he glanced back to make sure no one had come onto the beach. Once reassured that no one would see their actions, he reached along the bond and merged his senses with Obi-Wan’s. The contents of the box rose slowly, each individual grain of ash lifting and sparkling in the brilliant sun. When the box was empty and a gray wall of ash floated in the air before them, Qui-Gon spoke. “May the sea welcome you home and may you rest peacefully in the eddies of the Force for all eternity.” 

Obi-Wan reached up and placed his hand against the expanse of ash before him. “Rest easy, Var-Son. We will strive to honor your legacy and your sacrifice.” With those words, he drew his hand back and pushed as Qui-Gon did the same and the specks of ash flew away from them, settling gently in the deeper waters of the sea as the strength of the Force push waned. 

They stood in respectful silence for a long moment, both of them having similar thoughts for the man who had given them their new lives. Var-Son believed they would be his redemption, a way of making amends for all the less than ethical research he had completed at Palpatine’s direction. They were delving into unknown territory, stepping into a world that was still fighting to recover from the decades of damage the Sith had brought down on the Galaxy. 

Qui-Gon drew on the wonders of the Living Force surrounding him, renewing his connection after so much time spent on the asteroid and in the dearth of space. He could feel the wealth of life in the sea, from the small fish still maneuvering around their ankles to the larger marine mammals swimming in the deeper waters. Seaweed and small shelled invertebrates moved along with the fish and Qui-Gon leaned down to trail his fingertips through the water. 

When he straightened up, Qui-Gon took Obi-Wan’s hand. “Shall we find a shady place to sit for a while? It’s wonderful to feel the abundance of life around us after all this time.” 

“Definitely,” Obi-Wan agreed, “As long as its dry. I spent enough time in wet leggings in one lifetime, I’d prefer not to do it in this one.”  
“I’m sure we can accommodate that,” Qui-Gon replied as they turned and made their way back up the beach. They were half-way up the path, when they noticed a smaller path moving off to the west. They turned onto it and were pleasantly surprised that after a few meters they entered a small grotto. 

Thick moss covered the ground and willowy trees along three sides provided a perfect shady retreat. Settling onto the worn, flat rock that has obviously served as a bench for centuries, Qui-Gon waved at their surroundings and asked. “Is this acceptable?” 

Obi-Wan grasped Qui-Gon’s hand and pulled him to sit on the bench beside him in lieu of a verbal reply. They would need to talk, they would need to mediate, both by themselves and with their ethereal counterparts. But for now, they would just sit, look out at the sea, and bask in the currents of the Living Force. There would be plenty of time for making decisions later.


End file.
